At the beginning of the 1964 32 year old Eddie Kasko was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Houston Colt .45's for Jim Dickson and Wally Wolf. In that '64 season Kasko put together one of the top 20 defensive seasons in Houston franchise history, which is why he's being highlighted today prior to tonights 64th game on the season.
Offensively Kasko's numbers are an eye sore, .244/.300/.290 in 727 plate appearances with Houston over two years. He wasn't acquired for his bat however he was acquired for his defense at shortstop. Through-out Kasko's career, he posted negative defensive WAR numbers only once and that one time he did he posted a -0.1. So for his career he was average to above average defensively at a premium position.
He posted a 7.5 dWAR for his career, which I'm sure many will scoff at, but Kasko never played past 34 and had two of his younger years taken away due to Military Service. I don't know that I'd call him one of the greatest every, however, he was a fine defensive player in his own right.
With Houston he posted a 1.8 dWAR all coming in 1964, when he lead all shortstops in Fielding Percentage, Total Zone Runs and fourth in dWAR.
Before the 1966 season he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Felix Mantilla, thus ending his Houston career.